STORY: Pakistani youth gains popularity on Chinese social media platforms
SHOOTING TIME: Oct. 3-7, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 10, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:26
LOCATION: ZHENGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Zaigham Abbas's life in Henan
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MUHAMMAD AWAIS, Pakistani expat
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
6. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
7. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student

STORYLINE:

Recently, Zaigham Abbas, a Pakistani student, has gained popularity on Chinese social media platforms due to his friendly interactions with netizens.

Abbas gained the opportunity to pursue further studies related to plant hormones in China in 2019.

Now, he has nearly 400,000 followers and over 2.6 million likes.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
"Hi, I'm Abbas. I'm a PhD student at Henan Agricultural University.
I started my TikTok (Douyin) account in 2023, but I got the "real fame," you can say that many people, they came to my account during the new year (2024).
Actually, they (Chinese netizens) like to communicate (with me), Chinese people, they like to interact, especially with the people from Pakistan.
But you can see, after getting a lot of comments, this time, I get more recognition, I can be recognized by more people. They come to me and not only say "hello," but they also like to take picture with me. So you can say a more positive and warmful interaction has been created as compared to before."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
"During the day, I work in this lab. And at night, I respond to my fans in my comments section. So, this is my secret base where I spend 8 hours a day. I "play" with the device "Raman spectroscopy" to detect the plant hormones to check what the plants want to "discuss" with us, because plants also "talk." So this device, it detects the plant, hearing, and lets us know what they want."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MUHAMMAD AWAIS, Pakistani expat
"We're from the same city back in Pakistan. Abbas and me are friends from last 10 years. Of course, he has got some fame, and also he has done very good research. I wish him very good luck for his future."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
"The quick instrument, these are not present in Pakistan right now. So, we get the samples, go to the lab, wait for two days, and after that, we can get the results. But here, this instrument we have developed, our team have developed, we can get the results just in 20 minutes.
This machine is IRFA-6000, and this machine is designed by our lab mates and our team to detect the nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
"After I came to China, I came to know that Henan is the potential agriculture hub of China, which impressed me very much, because it has a great potential and immense speed for technology for agriculture. After that, I found great mentor and friends in China, so I'm very happy and very glad to be part of this agriculture hub, Henan Province."

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): ZAIGHAM ABBAS, Pakistani PhD student
"And if you are one of my fans, make sure come to Henan and visit me. I will take you to see some high-tech agriculture technology in Henan Province, as well as make sure to have "Hulatang" (hot and spicy soup) together with me, ok?
And definitely, friendship between China and Pakistan will long live!"

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Zhengzhou, China.
(XHTV)